ITV's £25m sale of Friends Reunited has been referred to the Competition
Commission over concerns that the new owner will dominate the online
genealogy market.

The broadcaster agreed to sell the once-popular social networking site to Brightsolid, a division of DC Thomson, at a £150m loss in August.

However, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is concerned that Brightsolid's plan to combine Friends' genealogy site - Genes Renuited - with its own family tracing sites, FindMyPast.com and the 1911census.co.uk could breach competition law.

Amelia Fletcher, the OFT's senior director of mergers, said: "People's growing interest in researching their family tree has made this an increasingly important market.

"The proposed acquisition would see the three main providers of online genealogy services reduced to two, and we are concerned this could lead to a reduction in choice or service for consumers."

BothITVand Brightsolid said they were "disappointed" with the OFT's decision to refer the deal to the Competition Commission. Chris van der Kuyl, chief executive of Brightsolid, said: "We believe the merger will be good for competition and good for consumers."